WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW - Second Injury Funds

Oftentimes, an employee may be suffering from an injury or disability and then be subsequently injured while working for the employer. Generally, the states have addressed this issue by creating a second injury fund. For the most part, the employer is only responsible for the workers' compensation benefits attributable to the injury incurred while the employee was working for the employer. The second injury fund would pick up where the employer left off by paying the difference between what the employer pays and what the employee is entitled for the total effect of all of his injuries.

Usually, compensation from the second injury fund hinges on the determination that the combined effect of all the employee's injuries have left him permanently and totally disabled. However, some states have rejected this limitation. The states also vary on the coverage for specified impairments, the affect of the employer's knowledge of the employee's prior injury or disability, the time limitations for claims, what amount will be paid by the second injury fund, and when such payments will be made to the employee.

The states define their own second injury fund coverage parameters for prior injuries. Variations among the states have yielded exclusions for prior maladies that include congenital defects, non-compensable injuries, and non-obvious injuries. States utilizing this last exclusion would find coverage only for those injuries that are "plain," such as the loss of a limb or an eye.